This invention is directed to a system and method for rendering fonts on a network. More particularly, this invention is directed to a system and method for storing font image data, which is already rendered, in a history-based order on the server side.
Web-based applications are accessed by client users from web browsers from many different choices of client operating systems, such as Windows, Linux, Unix, and Macintosh. These client operating systems may not have any fonts or any desirable fonts in a desirable language and is especially true in a Linux or Unix system. In a typical web server application, the user sends requests and data from a web browser to the application on the web server. The web-based application responds to the request and sends data back to user through the web browser.
Storing fonts and retrieving the data on the server side allows a user to use different kinds of typefaces, different sizes, and different languages of fonts that may not exist in the user's client system. All users, even if the users are using different operating system and browsers, receive the same results. However, retrieving font data on the server side requires much processing time. There is a significant problem if the font is an outline font in which the shape or outline of each character is defined in vector or curves. Every character of the outline font must be generated as needed which is a computer intensive process.
There is a need for a system and method for rendering fonts on a network which overcomes these problems.